Consumer products are incorporating more innovation to provide consumers with improved user experiences. However, innovative consumer products are more expensive and thus are more likely to be stolen at the retail shelf by shoplifters. Shoplifters typically look for products that are compact, relatively expensive and can be sold for near-retail prices. For example, razors and razor blade cartridges are typically expensive, small in size, have a high resale value and are in high demand, especially for more premium brands. Similar to razors and razor blades, electric toothbrushes and their corresponding replacement heads are also commonly shoplifted items. Teeth whitening strips are another dental hygiene product with a high theft rate in retail stores. Furthermore, with the advancement of e-commerce the shoplifting industry is growing because of the increased ease of selling of stolen products over the internet.
Consumer product companies and retailers have had limited success with packages that are more difficult to tear or cut open. However, this does not deter shoplifters. These packages also frustrate legitimate consumers because of the difficulty of opening the package without the aid of a sharp tool. Furthermore, shoplifters may cut open the package, remove the product and still sell the product without packaging on the internet. For example, razors cartridges are typically sold four cartridges within a plastic dispenser that is then packaged. Shoplifters may cut open the package and just sell the cartridges within the dispenser on the internet. Consumer product companies have also had only limited success with sealing an anti-theft tag within the package that sets off an alarm when exiting the store. These theft tags may not always be deactivated properly at check out. This technology also does not prevent shoplifters from cutting open the package in the store and removing the product. In addition, the anti-theft tags that are sealed in the consumer package add cost to the product, which is typically passed to the consumer. Despite the use of known packaging techniques, there remains a need to further modify consumer product packages to hamper product theft.